Cuttack: In a nail-biting finish, India successfully beat England by 15 runs in the last over to win the match and series 2-0. Despite some brilliant batting by Morgan with pressure yet he couldn’t let his team win this match. All in all it was an exhilarating contest with many twists and turns.
Yuvraj Singh terms his Cuttack knock ‘one of the best’
It was a complete run-riot at Cuttack. Indian batsmen MS Dhoni (134) and Yuvraj Singh (150) took the center-stage just when India were losing too many wickets at a quick time. They judged each ball on merit and hit spectacular shots from time to time. After a long time, talented all-rounder Yuvraj Singh played his natural game hitting a gritty knock with 21 boundaries and 3 sixes in just 127 balls.
On the other end, much relaxed MS Dhoni exploited the opportunity well hitting 6 big sixes and 10 boundaries in his 122-ball knock. The duo built a massive 256-run partnership when India were brought to a dismal score of 25 for 3. All three of India’s top order batsmen failed miserably today. Lokesh Rahul (5), Shikhar Dhawan (11) and captain Kohli (8) went out in the first five overs.
Excellent bowling by the English bowler Chris Woakes gave initial breakthrough to his team. He dismantled India’s top-order and picked up 4 wickets in the match. However, Woakes couldn’t restrict the run-flow of veteran batting pair of Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh who enjoyed hitting glorious shots all around the stadium. The jam-packed barabati stadium in Cuttack was waiting for something special and magnificent knocks of Yuvraj and Dhoni have truly contended their hearts.
After 50 overs, India piled up a mammoth 381 runs on board. Visitors opened the innings with the promising pair of Alex Hales and Jason Roy. But fast bowler Bumrah dismissed Hales (14) cheaply behind stumps at the hands of Dhoni.
Then Joe Root 54 (55b, 4s x 8) and Jason Roy 82 (73b, 4s x 9, 6s x 2) built the innings brick by brick. Root looked confident and scored his runs freely while Roy was doing the real carnage. He showed no-mercy approach and almost beat Indian bowlers without any respect. However, the dismissal of Joe Root as the second wicket fall at 128 opened up the match once again. Roy and Root added the much needed 100-run partnership for the 2nd wicket for England.
Then Jason Roy got out as the England’s score came down to 170 for 3 after playing a well-crafted knock. Captain Eoin Morgan and Moin Ali then took charge and played some really good shots to take the innings forward. Left-handed Moin Ali (55) hit 6 useful boundaries down the order in just 43 balls. However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled him out to renew India’s hope of winning the match.
Then the nail-biting moment of the match came as England required 40 runs to win from the last 16 balls. There was a stunt silence in the ground. Captain Eoin Morgan was still playing in his 90s. Soon, Morgan completed his century and got his 9th ODI hundred. He was getting good support from the tailender Liam Plunkett who also found some useful gaps just when the team needed most. But the dismissal of Morgan on 102 courtesy excellent fielding by Bumrah eventually closed the game for England.
Scoreboard
India 381/6 (Dhoni 122, Yuvraj Singh 150; Woakes 4/60)
England 366/8 (Morgan 102, Roy 82, Moeen Ali 55; Ashwin 3/65)
Tags: 2nd ODI, Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, England, Eoin Morgan, India, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh
